This disclosure relates generally to antiseptic cleaning agents. In particular, this disclosure discusses an antiseptic cleaning agent comprising chlorhexidine acetate. Moreover, this disclosure discusses methods and apparatus associated with the chlorhexidine antiseptic cleaning agent.
In the fields of medicine and health care, a patient's skin may be punctured in a variety of manners and for a variety of reasons. In one example, a patient's skin is cut with a sharp object, such as a scalpel, for surgical reasons. In another example, a cannula or an intravenous (“IV”) catheter is forced through the patient's skin into an interior space, such as the patient's vasculature. In this example, the cannula or IV catheter can be used for infusing fluid (e.g., saline solution, medicaments, and/or total parenteral nutrition) into the patient, withdrawing fluids (e.g., blood) from the patient, and/or monitoring various parameters of the patient's vascular system.
However, when a patient's skin is punctured, the likelihood of infection in the patient increases. Indeed, it is estimated that each year hundreds of thousands of patients in the United States alone develop some form of bloodstream infection that is caused by pathogens that were communicated to the patient through or because of an IV catheter or another IV access device, such as a hypodermic needle. Many of the bacterial pathogens that cause these catheter-related bloodstream infections are common skin colonizers, or flora that exist on the patient's skin, and are often believed to enter the patient's body through the catheter insertion site.
Often, these catheter-related bloodstream infections cause patient illness and, in some cases, death. Furthermore, because some infections are caused by bacterial strains (e.g., Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (“MRSA”) and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (“VRE”)) that are resistant to antibiotics, such infections can be hard to treat and may be becoming more prevalent. Additionally, because patients that have a bloodstream infection may require additional medical treatment, catheter-related bloodstream infections may also be associated with increased medical costs.
In an attempt to limit bloodstream infections (i.e., catheter-related infections) in hospital, outpatient, home care, and other health care settings, many have implemented sanitary techniques. For example, many health care providers have placed a strong emphasis on wearing gloves, cleaning hands, cleaning the insertion site on patient's skin before the catheter or other sharp medical device punctures the skin, cleaning the catheter site after the puncture, and using sterilize medical instruments.
While hands, skin, medical instruments, and other surfaces in health care settings are cleaned in a variety of methods, often cleansers with one or more antimicrobial agents are used to clean such surfaces. However, such cleansers are not without their shortcomings. For example, many cleansers are ineffective against some common types of microbes. For instance, as mentioned above, some pathogens, such as MRSA and VRE, have developed a resistance to certain antimicrobial agents.
In another example, when certain cleansers dry, the cleansers leave a tacky residue on the surfaces to which the cleansers were applied. Accordingly, such cleansers may cause several challenges. For instance, some cleansers, such as those containing chlorhexidine gluconate, dry to leave a tacky residue. Accordingly, such cleansers can adversely impact the adhesion of dressings, wound closure tapes, and bandages. In other instances, the tacky residue of such cleansers may be uncomfortable on a patient's skin. In still other instances, the tacky residue of such cleansers can catch and hold pathogens, dirt, fibers, and other debris. In yet other instances, the tacky residue can adversely impact devices that are cleaned with it. For example, when a cleanser that leaves a tacky residue is used to a clean surface that is configured to move across another surface (e.g., as is the case with scissor blades, catheter valve surfaces, catheter connectors, and many other medical devices), the cleanser's tacky residue may adversely impact the movement of one surface across another. For example, where a catheter connector has been cleaned with a cleanser that dries to leave a tacky residue, a person may find it difficult to twist the connector onto a mating connector. It should further be noted that the problems associated with cleansers that dry to leave a tacky residue may become worse where the cleansers are used multiple times in the same area so as to cause a build-up of the tacky residue.
The present disclosure discusses an antiseptic cleaning agent comprising chlorhexidine acetate. Generally, this chlorhexidine acetate cleaning agent is effective against a wide range of pathogens and does not leave a tacky residue when it dries.